Junior Carlsbad 2015

Women in Ground Combat at 29 Palms

The Marine Corps Ground Combat Element Integrated Task Force comprised of men and women continues their evaluation at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in 29 Palms. Their research will determine whether or not women will be allowed to serve in ground combat units starting in 2016. Photography by Howard Lipin

Julian's business district

Julie Harper court hearing

Vista Courthouse Judge Blaine Bowman agreed to delay the retrial of murder defendant Julie Harper, 41, to September 8 because she is pregnant. She was arrested for the August, 2012 death of her husband Jason at their Carlsbad home. Her first trial last year ended in an acquittal for 1st. degree murder and a hung jury for 2nd. degree murder.

Wildflowers bloom in Borrego

Unseasonably warm temperatures have been tough on the wildflowers blooming in Borrego Springs. Cooler temps are forecast and that may sustain the blooms which dot fields not far from the road.
Photo gallery by John Gastaldo/U-T San Diego

Civil War battle in Vista

Del Mar's New Hawk

Tim Richards, a volunteer woodcarver known for creating the Tiki statue at the top of Swami's Beach finished a Red-Tailed hawk carved out of a dead Torrey Pines tree on Camino Del Mar a few blocks from the San Diego border. The tree died from an attack by bark beetles and idea man David Arnold, with help from the City of Del Mar, received permission to turn it into art.
Photo by John Gastaldo/U-T San Diego

Snow on Palomar Mountain

Flower Fields open in Carlsbad

The annual opening day, March 1, at the Carlsbad Flower Fields was not as colorful as it has been in years past, but visitors who braved the inclement weather and were willing to walk to the extreme ends of the fields were rewarded with a hillside of petunias on one end and a robust field of ranunculi on the other end. Photography by Peggy Peattie/UT San Diego

Students on Trial

About 450 San Diego County high school students participated in the annual San Diego County High School Mock Trial Competition at the downtown courthouse, February 28, 2015 Photography by Howard Lipin/U-T San Diego

Silver Bay Kennel Show

Sunday was the final day of the annual Silver Bay Kennel Club Dog Show held at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. The best of the best were singled out in a variety of breeds. Photography by Peggy Peattie/UT San Diego

Beagle brigade arrives

A team of their own

When 14-year-old Isaiah Granet started the youth hockey team San Diego Chill for developmentally disabled children, he just wanted the kids to have a team of their own. It started with two players and has grown to 25 with much of the community volunteering. Photography by Nelvin C. Cepeda

The Marvel Experience

Comic-book aficionados headed to The Marvel Experience at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, February 7, 2015. The experience, a 90-minute interactive show, which takes participants through various levels of training that involve climbing up walls, going through a laser maze and interacting with 3D superheroes and villains. Photography by Howard Lipin

Escondido's dancing stars

Vista High's Ag. Dept. honored

Vista High School was one of just two agricultural programs recognized for community service by the Future Farmers of America. Vista High was a recipient of the FFA: Food For All grant, and FFA recognized just two chapters for outstanding results from the grants.

Monk on bee-tending mission

Spanish Revival home in Cardiff

The original house was a modest 1,000-square-foot structure built in 1961 on a .18 acre lot in Cardiff-by-the-Sea. In 2005 a contractor/builder doubled the square footage, gutted much of the interior and transformed it into a Spanish Revival-style house. The owners have decorated the home with artifacts from their travels to Ireland, Chile, Peru, Tahiti, and Vietnam.

Sudsing up with Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps

Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps made famous in the 1960s are still cleaning up with their ALL-ONE Love and Peace philosophy. They gave participants in the Spartan Race 2015 at Vail Lake Resort in Temecula showers of peppermint flavored foaming soap at the end of the race, January 17, 2015. Photography by Howard Lipin

OCEANSIDE  Oceanside police used a Taser to subdue a transient who threatened them with a knife Monday, while in a separate incident another homeless man mooned officers and punched one in the head, authorities said. In the first incident about 4:30 p.m., a rookie and training officer told a 47-year-old man he couldn’t loiter behind a business on South Oceanside Boulevard near Interstate 5, police Lt. Leonard Cosby said. Cosby said the training officer ...

NORTH COUNTY  A motorist was killed when his pickup slammed into a tree in the North County community of Deer Springs Tuesday morning, a fire official said. The crash happened about 9:40 a.m. on Camino Del Rey near Old Highway 395, Cal Fire Capt. Kendal Bortisser said. The driver was the only person in the truck at the time of the crash, the fire captain said. No other vehicles were involved.

OCEANSIDE  A sheriff's sergeant was injured during a vehicle stop Monday night, but he was still able to arrest the suspect, a sheriff's official said. The sergeant had stopped a vehicle at state Route 76 and Frazee Road in Oceanside about 10 p.m., sheriff's Lt. Jim Walker said. The suspect fled, and the sergeant was injured as the vehicle was being driven off, Walker said. The sergeant was able to drive his vehicle and ...

OCEANSIDE  Oceanside Mayor Jim Wood had a mini-stroke last week and took a few days off to recover, but was back on the job Monday, he said. Wood experienced similar medical problems in 2011 and 2012 and returned to work soon after. Some people raised questions about his whereabouts last week after he missed a council workshop Wednesday afternoon. In an interview Monday, the mayor said he was feeling fine. He said he had ...

ESCONDIDO  A pedestrian in his 30s was struck and killed by a truck in Escondido late Sunday night, police said. Witnesses told police a Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD was headed east on state Route 78 when it struck the man at the Broadway intersection about 11:15 p.m., said Escondido police Lt. Justin Murphy. The driver, a 58-year-old San Marcos man, had a green light when he hit the pedestrian, who was in the Broadway crosswalk. ...

Oceanside lifeguards carried out dozens of water rescues Sunday as heavy waves pounded the harbor. A large wave toppled a 37-foot cabin cruiser around 12:22 p.m., throwing two of the seven passengers from the boat as it entered the harbor. "The boat turned to the side, barrel rolled completely over, and then righted itself," lifeguards said. None of the passengers on the cabin cruiser suffered serious injuries. Lifeguards had rescued six watercraft and 36 swimmers ...

ESCONDIDO  A 19-year-old driver who had been inhaling harmful chemicals crashed into a light pole in Escondido Saturday night and suffered serious injuries, police said. The young Escondido woman told officers she had been “huffing,” or inhaling, some kind of substance before the crash, Escondido police Lt. Greg Kogler said. The driver was going too fast west on Lincoln Avenue shortly before 7 a.m .and lost control of her Hyundai Accent, Kogler said. Her ...

SOLANA BEACH  A 59-year-old motorist died Saturday after he passed out at the wheel, hit into another vehicle and sheared off a traffic light pole in Solana Beach, a sheriff’s official said. Witnesses saw the man slump over the steering wheel before losing control of his vehicle, sheriff’s Cpl. Brenda Sipley said. She said the man also had pre-existing medical conditions, which may have contributed to the crash. The man was driving east on ...

SAN MARCOS  A minor-injury collision closed Deer Springs Road in both directions north of San Marcos Saturday evening, according to the California Highway Patrol. The crash between an SUV and a Mini Cooper occurred about 4:55 p.m. near Sarver Lane, the CHP website said. One person first was reported in critical condition and trapped in the Mini Cooper, the CHP said. The victim was taken to Palomar Medical Center in Escondido and was later ...

ESCONDIDO  A kitchen fire at an Escondido Carl's Jr. restaurant forced the evacuation of employees and customers Saturday morning, a fire captain said. The fire in the deep fryer was reported at 11:17 a.m. in the Carl’s Jr. on North Mission Avenue at North Quince Street, Capt. Dennis Boyer said. Crews were at the fast-food restaurant in three minutes, and were able to extinguish the fire within 15 minutes, Boyer said. Initial reports indicated ...

FALLBROOK  A motorcyclist was killed Friday night when he lost control of the bike and crashed into the side of a big rig on Interstate 15 in North County, according to the California Highway Patrol. The incident happened as the 21-year-old, from Central Point, Ore., was transitioning from state Route 76 to northbound I-15 near Fallbrook about 10 p.m., CHP Sgt. Jerry Matheson said. He lost control of the motorcycle, drove through dirt and ...

CARLSBAD  Anyone visiting the Westfield Carlsbad mall recently may have noticed a large number of empty store spaces. That's because the mall is getting ready for the second phase of a major renovation project due to start early next year, Westfield officials said. The mall is undergoing a $300 million makeover project that will turn the indoor shopping center into an upscale, outdoor shopping destination. Eventually, the 120 smaller stores will close for about ...

ESCONDIDO  A speeding motorist died Thursday night after he slammed into a retaining wall along Via Rancho Parkway, Escondido police said. Eric Robert Anderson, 33, of Escondido, suffered major head injuries and died at Palomar Medical Center, police Lt. Justin Murphy said. Anderson was driving a Nissan 350Z westbound on Via Rancho Parkway at high speed and lost control of the car about 10:10 p.m., Murphy said. The car went into a sideways skid ...

CARLSBAD  A month-long celebration of books with community-wide book discussions, lectures, and entertainment put on by the Carlsbad Library starts next month. The focus of this year’s Carlsbad Reads Together event is “The Human Age: The World Shaped By Us” by Diane Ackerman, New York Times bestselling author. The book explores the idea that the human race is the dominant force of change on the planet. The aim of the program is to bring ...

More than 200 concerned parents attended a forum in Carlsbad Thursday night aimed at addressing the growing problem of students using social media to bully others and make threats. Organized by the Carlsbad Unified School District at the Sheraton Carlsbad Resort & Spa, the program featured law enforcement, legislators and online experts sharing ideas on how to control the problem of social media threats on campuses. The meeting was one of the largest of its ...